The 50th annual West Indian Carnival Parade

Monday is Labor Day, which also means the return of the huge, extravagant, colorful, loud, and totally fabulous West Indian Carnival Parade, now in its 50th year. The parade runs along Eastern Parkway from 11am to 6pm, and if you are in town it would be a shame to not just pop over to take in the spectacle of elaborately costumed dancers, over-the-top floats, and steel drum bands as far as the eye can see. Yes, it gets very crowded, but it’s the kind of thing that you can check out for as little or as long of a time as you want, and it’s worth the hassle. Be sure to bring cash if you’re interested in sampling some of delicious Caribbean cuisine from the various jerk chicken, curry goat, and callaloo stands that line the traffic dividers.